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How The Rise of Conversational AI Will Impact The World

By
Anirban Guha, Data Driven Investor
on February 18, 2019

From different professional services, insurance, education, finance, travel, and telecom to construction, banking, and business, AI has caused a stir across sectors. As we can see in today's world, many companies have been trying to adopt the new technology. However, most of them still wonder whether AI can live up to the benefits promised. The burning question running through the minds of business tycoons is whether AI can provide the expected boost to their business.

The potential of AI is immense, and the benefits speculated are extremely promising. From drone taxis operating on voice commands, cars that are self-driven, and robots serving meals, people are intimidated by the massive potential of AI. Nevertheless, only a tiny portion of the population has experienced the benefits of AI. Still, no one can miss the obvious potential of the upcoming technology.

According to research at the McKinsey Global Institute, venture capitalists, tech giants, and private equity firms are all over the technology. They have been investing massive amounts in AI. In 2017, the investment in AI was around USD 15-23 billion in North America. Europe invested USD 3-4 billion, and Asia spent USD 8-12 billion on the technology.

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The same article states that despite the enormous investment, even the organizations aware of the potential of AI are not as active in including it as expected. The adoption of the technology remains somewhat limited. About 40 percent of the firms are thinking of including AI in business, 40 percent have started conducting experiments regarding the same, and just 20 percent have already adopted the concept.

The reasons are not that far-fetched. Before including AI into business, it is important to examine certain aspects such as return on investment and how well the technology can deal with obstacles coming in the way of its implementation.

The Rise of AI Powered Chatbots

Drift's recent study suggests that the consumer buying pattern is changing. People now prefer to interact with the business in real time while making their purchases over any other medium of communication. To dive more into consumer interaction, it is becoming increasingly important for every sector to initiate real-time conversations with the help of AI.

With the help of technologies such as natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning, real-time conversations between conversational AI chatbots and consumers can increase to a great extent. Earlier, a human had to be constantly present for carrying out real-time communications with customers.

According to the State of Chatbots 2018 research conducted by MyClever, Salesforce, Drift, and SurveyMonkey Audience, chatbots are better at answering complicated queries quickly and efficiently. The best thing about this technology is that the interaction gets better as users use the bot. In today’s digital era, quick and efficient communication is highly valued.

In the real world today, consumers like information to be made available to them quickly at the tap of a button or in a single click. They can easily turn to competitors when they are frustrated due to the unavailability of information quickly. If the competitors provide users with the experience they are looking for, it can negatively impact your business. The most common complaints include an inability to navigate through the website, not finding information regarding the business details, phone number, hours of operation, etc. Another factor that drives away users is when they can't find solutions to simple queries.

Chatbot Use Cases

Adopting conversational AI by companies can be a real differentiator. The reason is that most consumers are fascinated by technology.

Thirty-seven percent of the users stated that they wanted AI chatbot integration with companies to get answers to their queries throughout the day. About 35 percent said that they would use bots for the redressal of the complaints. Thirty-five percent of users expect detailed explanations whereas 34 percent prefer connecting to a human via a bot.

The report also observes that most users wish to get quick answers. If the chatbot cannot answer a complex question, consumers would want the bot to be able to connect them with a human.

When the management team is limited, and the customer base is broad, chatbots can efficiently cater to customer needs and provide the required engagement. When a basic understanding of business intricacies is needed, or when the team of agents is limited, firms can use this approach to enhance customer satisfaction.

For instance, before buying an insurance policy, customers don’t have much knowledge and not all of them are fully able to understand the terms and conditions. Chatbots can help customers fill forms easily by providing the necessary information via FAQ, send reminders about premium due dates and help them in settling claims. In the case of trading accounts and investments, chatbots can make users aware of the risks and guide customers through the process.

Anirban Guha, Data Driven Investor authored this article, which can also be found here.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CDOTrends.